Broken
by SSTR87
Summary: Okay, fair warning this is a very morbid story. Naruto suffers schizophrenia, or so everyone thinks. Very dark and character deaths
1. Chapter 1

Sakura and Sasuke frowned as they had been left alone in the team assignment room with a veritable unknown. Some blonde kid named that was obviously not a girl named Hitomi, the third member of the squad, and as they cast curious gazes in his direction he would start to mutter to himself.

"They're looking this way again," he grumbled in annoyance, his voice child-like. "Let them stare, they're merely curious," came a deep baritone in reply as his eyes closed and he crossed his arms. "Why should we ignore them? I say we blow their fucking heads off!" The new voice spoke in an effeminate, if gruff manner and made no qualms about being heard.

Sakura shivered as she turned away, her face paling slightly. "He's not serious is he?'

Sasuke ignored the girl, but still averted his gaze. Something about the blonde seemed familiar and it tickled the back of his senses. It was like a memory was begging to come to light, held at bay.

"Y'know if I had my colony I could have already killed these brats," came an aged voice from the boy in a heavy country accent. "You and your stupid bugs," another soft female voice, alluring by its nature and even dragging the eyes of the two Academy graduates back on the blonde, hoping to hear more.

The boy's face smiled lovingly and warmly in their direction and the kid rose from his seat, a simple gait alluring and entrancing the pair of kids as he made his way over.

Just as the boy was leaning forward, his left hand cupping Sasuke's cheek while the right held Sakura's, a tall man was suddenly there, a kunai to the blonde's throat. "Stop," he commanded simply, his voice completely serious.

Both kids shook their heads as the genjutsu ended and were witness to two snakes slowly slithering back into his sleeves, all the while Naruto giving that same alluring smile. Sasuke and Sakura jumped back immediately, fearful at the near-death experience.

Naruto held his hands up, his face changing from alluring to serious and stern. "Whoever you are, if you get involved again, I'm gonna kill you," he swore.

That was when the most surprising thing occurred, his skin began to harden, looking like stone, yet dense as diamond. His sneer turned cold as he swung his elbow back to try caving in the man's chest, however the man darted out of reach and formed a seal that suddenly had the boy on the ground clutching at his skull, the hardened rock body shifting to normal skin while he screamed in unbearable agony.

"AHHH! STOP IT! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! AHHHH!"

His pleads for mercy gained him none as the tall man stared down on him impassively until he finally passed out.

Finally, the man released the seal while exhaling lazily. "Kakashi Hatake, your Jounin Instructor, sorry about this," he offered while rubbing a hand at the base of his neck.

"..." Silence was deafening while the two children tried to regain their wits. Sasuke was the first to come out of it, pointing at Naruto. "What the hell is that?!"

Kakashi sighed and shrugged before answering. "He's Naruto Uzumaki. He suffers paranoid schizophrenia with multiple dissociative personality disorders. He's a kid like you, but took a head injury that damaged his brain," Kakashi purposefully lied, his face impossible to discern. "When his other fictitious identities are kept in check, he's a sweet boy. However, try not to be in the same room as him alone. Ever. Some of his identities are really dangerous," he requested as plainly as teaching a kid to cross the road.

Sakura gulped, swallowing harshly at the lump in her throat before moving towards the down form of the boy. "Where did the snakes come from? I don't even see them any more," she queried. Funny as it was, such a technique might be something she could use. Simple, hidden and undetectable. Definitely the traits that would gain her Sasuke-kun's attention!

Kakashi shrugged. "Been trying for years to figure that out. There's a whole wing of research and development working to duplicate some of the sealless jutsu that his identifies use. You've seen two of them, both listed as kekkei genkai for the time being," he informed.

Before the kids could ask any more questions, Kakashi clapped his hands. "Alright, since I have this dead weight here, I'll be returning him to his cell," he addressed.

Sakura and Sasuke nodded while Kakashi made plans to meet the kids the following day at a training ground.

No one noticed until the kids departed the fact that Naruto's form had slacked and gone pale, nor that his body and clothing were no more than a husk, the shedding of skin like a snake...

(Somewhere Hidden)

Hitomi, a young girl that was a promising kunoichi, shivered in the cold dark room, huddled as she was. She honestly had no idea how she had gotten here, much less stripped of all weapons and unable to access her chakra.

The sound of footsteps rang out like thunder and her young heart raced. She moaned out pitifully, hoping for someone to hear her. The was a tense moment when the steps stopped before they started again, her heart thudding in time. Tears began to leak from her eyes as she moaned all the louder.

There was some rustling like metal being moved on hollow wood and suddenly a bright light filled her eyes.

Hitomi cried out in glee at her savior. It was some blonde-haired boy with amazing blue eyes. He reached down to touch her cheek, she thought he was going to remove the gag in her mouth, only to be shocked as his body swelled to gross proportions! It was like staring at a water-logged cadaver for a moment before he snapped back to normal parameters...

Only he wasn't himself anymore! He was her! She was looking into a mirror image of herself and right down to her birthmark and blemishes, she couldn't see a difference.

Was he the one that had captured her in the first place?

No!

The hatch began to close, but she saw herself toss something in at the last second. Some thick sack that was... Buzzing?

As the lid was closed, Hitomi tried kicking at the walls of the limited confines, but couldn't get the leverage for anything forceful enough to escape.

Something brushed against her hand. She didn't know what it was, but it felt heavy for a small object and fuzzy.

She quickly pulled her body away from whatever it was, but felt something bump her face and another to her arm. She held still, hoping against hope that whatever it was would leave her be...

(With the fake Hitomi)

The young dirty blonde girl made her way through the front doors of her house with a small smirk that quickly changed to a blooming smile, one that any who knew the brand new Genin wouldn't be surprised to find. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Her parents, both tied down to chairs with thick rope widened their eyes, pleading and motioning at the ropes.

Hitomi dropped her school bag and rushed to her bound parents. "Oh my, what happened to you," she asked in alarm while removing the restraints. It was a widely known fact that Hitomi came from civilian family, the first in ten generations to have the desire and chakra coils to become a ninja. There was no way her parents could have freed themselves.

The two happily hugged their daughter and wept openly while the family of three held one another.

"It was just a prank, dear! We're sorry we worried you," Akimi, the mother, addressed placatingly.

Kensuke, Hitomi's father, held the girl tightly. "We had a friend tie us up. It was just some stupid prank a bunch of the parents said was great to pull on graduating kids. We didn't mean to make you so scared," he explained.

Hitomi narrowed her eyes darkly, but the look softened quickly. Obviously while stalking the original girl, he had missed something. Of course that did explain why it had been so difficult to subdue the class's dead last. She had been on guard thinking sometime was after her or her family... Oh well, it was his family now!

Parents, a house, a..."My room," she hesitantly whispered, looking between her parents.

That's right, he had his own room now! One that wouldn't be broken into! One without the padded white walls. One without the cold steel bars!

Akimi nodded her head, standing quickly and guiding her daughter along the house while her husband, Kensuke moved to collect hid daughters schoolbag and belongings.

"Come on baby, we'll tuck you in. Your Jounin-sensei stopped by. He said he's excited to meet you tomorrow. He wants you to meet at a training ground ~ Oh, this is so exciting," Akimi cheered while walking Hitomi to a certain room and twisting the doorknob.

The room was exciting to the girl! There were pictures of famous ninja on the wall called posters! He was never allowed these things! Books sat on a desk alongside scents that one of his identities whispered were perfect for her. A mirror was suspended on a closet door that was filled with many colorful and pastel clothes, a separate area held weapons and mesh armor of assorted variety!

Akimi snickered as Hitomi dashed to her desk and sat there, gazing in the mirror while while wiping the makeup from her face.

About this time Kensuke arrived with her bag. "Hey sweetie, I heard you got on the same team as Sasuke," he congratulated with an affectionate hand resting on her shoulder.

Hitomi looked up at him with a face of indifference before nodding. "Yeah. There's another girl there too. Sakura," she informed glumly.

The parents shared a look and sighed before departing. They were extremely proud of their daughter! Even at the bottom of the class was an achievement considering she was more athletic than any normal person could boast.

Naruto, the new Hitomi, smiled happily. She had achieved her dream of being loved! Not only that, but she could be a ninja now! Nothing was going to take this away from her, she'd make sure of it.

In the silence and solitude of her bedroom, Hitomi pulled out her other's diary and began to read. The girl was a typical girl. Boy crushes, friends, favorite foods and memorable events all recorded, even a few pictures inserted. It made more than one identity twist his guts in disgust, but she didn't care. If it meant having the unattainable dream, she would relive the girl's past a dozen times.

The sound of something tapping her window drew Hitomi's focus from the diary to the window in question. It also gave notice to the fact that the darkness has come again. She hated the darkness, it was where they sent her so many times before, but never again...

Another rapping of the glass shook the young girl, barely thirteen as was the norm for a graduating class, and had her tuck away the diary, only a month from completing the book.

A man was there, shrouded by a black cloak, only a pair of eyes peering through as the man's face. She opened the window cautiously while the many voices railed about her stupidity.

"Hello?" Her voice shook, equal parts acting as it was her own fear shining through.

The man shuffled into the room quickly, his clash being pulled off to reveal purple hair and an accented face, one that held a proud smile. "Hitomi-chan," he addressed before wrapping her in his arms affectionately before taking her lips in a light kiss.

Hitomi's lips tingled when the man moved away causing the girl to lightly blush while touching them gently. A warmth filled her belly that the voices seemed to enjoy, but left her perplexed.

"I've been wanting to say 'congratulations' all day," he revealed in glee before letting kiss do the talking again, this time his tongue slipping against her lips, briefly parting them.

Hitomi felt her hands moving, bidden by one of the many within to respond in a certain way as wave after wave lust rushed through her mind, every single one of the voices sending images and sensations at her mind, demanding this moment happen.

The man moaned as she moved her hands to more responsive areas before pulling away, albeit with great reluctance. "Oh, I wish that could, but not yet. Three more years, he whispered in promise, his breath hot against her lips.

Hitomi pouted but gave a small nod. She was still unused to to the sensations and thoughts running through her, but she understood the word 'no' in it's many iterations.

The man once more kissed her softly and nodded. "You're gonna be a great ninja! I, Mizuki, swear that on my life," he added the last bit in a playful manner, eliciting a light snicker from Hitomi.

As the man darted from the window, cloak covering him once more, Hitomi collapsed in her bed with a soft sigh, her eyes heavy and heart light. It was a first of many things today and she would make certain it wouldn't be last for a long time...

Sleep quickly reached out to embrace the pretender and lulled her into a new world, one that didn't consist of nightmare doctors stabbing her with needles of poison, didn't have the Hokage utilizing her seal to subdue her over and over until she stopped trying to kill him. No, her dreams were lovely dreams of a family hugging her while she slit the neck of Kakashi, them Mizuki would give her another soft kiss...

In another room soft moans and rhythmic vibrations danced from the floor and walls merrily as the couple within enjoyed their own party. None had any idea of the man entering, much less leaving from the room next door.

As Akimi climaxed, her entire body seizing up and her back arched in a beautiful display of grace and poise, the door slid open.

Kensuke couldn't cover himself and his wife's union fast enough as he tried to look over his shoulder at the person that was watching. It came as a surprise and a startled squawk when he realized it wasn't his daughter at all.

Standing there was a tall, slender woman with pale flesh, her face equine and symmetrical. She wore nothing but the tattoos of life-like snakes and as she casually strolled in, neither participant complained nor rejected her.

That night the three enjoyed each others embrace time and time again before the woman casually got up and walked away, washing in the bathing room before Hitomi awoke.

(Training Ground)

Hitomi arrived a bit early, her smile still present after eating a wonderful breakfast, the first home-cooked meal she had ever experienced, and took a clever hiding place in a bush, overlooking the "meeting place".

The voices had so much experience with being ninja and had shown her where to go. She couldn't hide the smile on her as easily as she hid her presence and suppressed her chakra.

Sakura and Sasuke arrived together, both looking annoyed but sat right in the open.

Hitomi frowned. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but it was foolish to stay in the open like that! The voices said so!

She didn't want to compromise her hiding place, tucked halfway into the shadows while the wind rustled the bushes. But, just then, something stirred, shuffling through the branches overhead. It gave her an idea and one of the identities agreed.

"Where the heck could Hitomi and Kakashi-sensei be," Sakura ranted while tapping her foot in annoyance.

"Hn," Sasuke uttered while sitting with his hands steepled, eyes dark.

The sounds of something moving drew their attention only to see a little squirrel dart through the grass, pause to look for predators and dash again.

"Awww, it's so cute! Don't you think so, Sasuke-kun?" While Sakura cooed over the rodent, it carried itself right up to the pair and stood up on its hind legs with hollow eyes, eyes that revealed the creature was dead, yet still animated.

The creature's mouth and vocal chords moved in a manner that was anatomically impossible as it spoke to the pair.

Far off in the bushes, Hitomi's mouth moved as well, words forming on her lips but no sound coming out.

"Why are you two standing here," the squirrel inquired in a monotonous, slow and high-pitched voice.

"Eek! A talking squirrel?!"

While Sakura was shouting the obvious, Sasuke had taken a defensive stance, kunai held at the ready. "Who's there," he barked out, eyes scanning the field but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

The squirrel spoke again. "Hi-to-mi..." it revealed before falling on its side. "Hide... Get away... From... The open," she implored as the rodent went stiff.

Sasuke nodded and dashed off to hide, Sakura on his heels.

Nearly an hour of sitting in silence passed quickly to reveal Kakashi casually stroll into the clearing before bending at the half and picking up the squirrel while nodding.

He was honestly impressed with this team, as they were the first to actually surveil the place, even if two hadn't understood at first. But, relating a message via a squirrel was something Chuunin came up with. Now had they destroyed the squirrel he'd have said Jounin rank.

With the squirrel being placed in his pouch for an investigative study later on, Kakashi took time to pull out two bells. "Hello little Genin, as you all should know me, I'm Kakashi Hatake, your Jounin instructor. You've all passed Academy, but now I'm going to see if you can pass my Bell Test. There are two bells here, you must have one in your hand by the time the timer runs out," he explained clearly and loudly where all the kids could hear him.

"Come at me with the intent to kill if you intend to get a bell," he encouraged before reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small orange book.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he continued to stalk, hoping at least one of his teammates would act first. As another hour passed and his belly grew noisy, he decided to act.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up in interest as Sasuke came rushing down from the treeline into the clearing. He kept an eye out for any other aggressors but could find none. With a casual shrug he readied to defend himself from Sasuke.

What he nor Sasuke expected was Hitomi to have already set a trap that Kakashi had walked right into. Hidden in the bush, she formed a single seal, her gleeful smile only growing as she whispered "katsu".

A small hiss was Kakashi's warning as the squirrel in his pouch detonated with alarming concussive force! The Jounin was fast and acted quickly by ripping the entire pouch free and throwing it with his left hand, unfortunately it detonated prematurely just as he was releasing it. At that same moment Sasuke closed on him, his topnotch Taijutsu coming into play as he hurled kicks and punches as the injured and badly burned Kakashi, who could only deflect with one hand, his legs having seized.

Sakura wanted to cheer for Sasuke and almost did when she heard the voice of Hitomi coming from some glowing blue wire on the ground. "Sakura. Sasuke needs your help. Throw as many kunai as you can at Kakashi, keep him distracted and I'll do what I can," she commanded before the line faded away like... "A chakra string!" The concept was incredulous! Delivering a message through a chakra string, no one had ever told her it was possible. Then again, no one said it wasn't...

Sakura popped out from her bush and began to rain steel death on Kakashi.

The Jounin caught the first kunai and used to push Sasuke away with a desperate slash. The brief moment have Kakashi a second to get away, only he hadn't seen the chakra thread now wrapped around his ankle in his moment of distraction. Lightning raced through his body and stopped his heart for a fleeting moment before jump starting it again. Over and over the voltage violated his person as Hitomi ignored his screams of pain.

There was glee in her eyes as she was finally getting the revenge she deserved on one of her many oppressors. Kakashi began to smoke from his hair as it caught fire and his body toppled over, continuing to convulse violently.

"Hitomi-chan," Sakura cried out from her bush. "Stop, he's down already," the pinkette implored, snapping Hitomi back to her present reality. She cut her electrical feed to the wire and let it dissolve while Sasuke grabbed the bells.

To the surprise of all there the man on the ground exploded into a cloud of smoke while a perfectly healthy Kakashi stepped into the clearing clapping his hands proudly.

Hitomi nearly broke character with a glare when Sakura shrieked in alarm. "Kakashi-sensei?! Then who was that?!" The "that" she was in reference to was the spot the clone died in.

"That, my children was a shadow clone. Remember, there are many types of clones out there and they come in handy. It may save your life when you see something suspicious."

At his words Hitomi considered and realized that her squirrel trap had been what tipped the man off, so they had been dealing with a clone the entire time. She wasn't ready to take him yet if he saw through such planning so easily. She'd have to bide her time and try something more subtle in the meanwhile.

Kakashi eye-smiled at the group as he announced. "You all pass, by the way. Congrats," he offered before stiffening and admitting, "you're actually the first students I've ever had pass, so I don't even know where to begin," he joked.

Sakura pointed directly at him as she and Hitomi neared him and Sasuke. "Teach us that clone thing! It seems really important," she suggested.

Kakashi laughed jovially. "You kids really want to learn clone jutsu? To do that you're gonna need to go through heaps of chakra control and building exercises."

The three nodded at him in interest, not at all afraid of putting in the effort.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Today's the day we get out," came a deep baritone voice as Naruto sat in a straight jacket, with his back to the door of his padded cell._

 _"You always say that, Genma," came a soft masculine voice from the boy's throat while his eyes gently closed._

 _A whisper of a voice, dark and foreboding spoke next. "He's right this time. I heard from the shadows they are making everyone our age into ninja today," he informed as the blonde's shadow seemed to ripple and distend._

 _"If we gonna iskape, we need a plan," came a thick country accent._

 _"I can get us out," the alluring, sultry voice of a seductress began as a snake made its way up Naruto's neck and began biting at the shackles behind the boy's back. Without hands, the snake was forced to use its fangs to pull the locks loose. Something that would be tine consuming and noisy._

 _"You're wasting our damn time," came another female voice, this one sounding cute, yet tomboyish. Dust slowly spilled from Naruto's mouth, a thick black mess that resembled tiny pebbles. "Get your snake to put this in the shackles," the blonde ordered through a voice not his own._

 _The snake backed up to drape over Naruto's front, swallowing the pebbles down before wrapping, coiling, around the boy's midriff._

 _"Is... Is this gonna hurt? Like a lot," this time it was a child's voice speaking as Naruto's eyes shimmered in phantom pain, already fearful of the answer._

 _Again that first voice, a deep baritone spoke commandingly. "Pain is an illusion, brat. Besides, I'll heal any damages you take," he informed. "Now, do it!"_

 _"Katsu," the tomboy commanded while a hand formed a seal._

 _ **BATHOOM!**_

(Present)

"Is there any word on his condition," Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, village leader and professor/god of ninja inquired of a nurse that sat over a hospital bed in which a man lay, coughing in a heavy fit.

The nurse looked up, a clipboard in his hand as he read the chart. The man was within a quarantine room, closed off from the rest of the village. As the nurse spoke, the man within hacked harshly, phlegm and crusted blood peppering the linen. "I've never seen anything like this. Whatever that little beast used," the nurse complained, pausing to shake his head. "Inoichi is bleeding out from the lungs and no amount of chakra or medicine is changing it. Can you ask the boy-"

Hiruzen raised a hand to stall the request as he looked within the room at one of his top ninja, Inoichi Yamanaka, head of interrogation and intelligence, Jounin level and a legendary member of team Ino-Shika-Cho looked so frail in there.

He couldn't even raise his head as his listless eyes made contact with Hiruzen.

"You know it's unreliable as often the identity we speak with knows nothing of the action taken by another, or the one responsible refuses to answer."

"I still say he's faking it! Putting on a show for us to keep out of punishment for his crimes," the nurse complained.

Hiruzen said nothing, only turning away and walking off, leaving the nurse to his duty.

(Hitomi)

She was alone again. Her teammates and instructor had each gone their separate ways for the day. A week had gone by since the team passed their test the teamwork training coupled with chakra control exercises given the young ninja many ideas on incorporating even more of the jutsu the voices knew, expanding upon them.

"We need to get to the library," she whispered to the voices that spoke animatedly.

They had agreed not to speak through her mouth as it drew too much attention, but it didn't stop them making a ruckus in her head.

Right now they all were screaming that the girl didn't need a library as they could teach her everything she needed.

Shaking her pretty auburn hair, Hitomi continued on her journey. "I heard Sakura mentioning chakra strings the other day. There may be a way to use some of our jutsu without revealing who I really am. I want to research these chakra strings," she pleaded.

The voices went quiet with the exception of one. _"See wut ya kin fine on bugs. Bees n hornits 'specially,"_ he requested with hope in his voice.

The girl nodded her head as she arrived at the front doors. The smile on her face threatened to split her head in half as she causally strolled within, no one looking twice at her.

She meandered along the many aisles, picking up and reading books that caught her eye on her way.

This book listed types of food one could prepare for a family and it made her heart flutter at the realization that she had one of those now.

The book spoke of many ingredients she had never heard of, nor could she associate the images with food stuffs in the markets so she placed it back on the shelf.

A little ways further she found another book, this one about ninja wire and it's uses. Amazingly it was the same wire one if the many had taught her to conjure and direct, only hers could be dissolved. The book spoke of coating it in animal fats and using it for fire techniques. There were so many fire techniques listed, yet none of the techniques mentioned other uses of the wire, such as stitching corpse puppets, electrocution or as medium for communication. Obviously the voices were smarter than this silly book, so she slid it back into place.

The sound of her humming a tune in time to the lute one of the voices was playing earned her a curious glance from a few shinobi. Music wasn't a common theme in the village.

Too noisy and distracting.

She picked up a book on poisons, curious what poisons actually were. The voice, the very dark one said poisons were stupid and useless when fast acting ailments worked faster and more effectively, yet Hitomi continued reading anyway.

Her humming stayed steady while she read about plants, fungi and animals that generated toxins capable of causing various effects from being disoriented to muscle locking, truth serums to lingering near-death torture. Hitomi decided to keep this book as even the dark voice had changed his mind.

With one book in hand she continued browsing and pulled a new book, this one about a giant fix demon with nine tails. It gave testimonials about the first time the Kyuubi attacked this village, controlled by a man named Madara Uchiha who sought to claim the heart of his crush while defeating his rival. Things didn't work out well for him as the Shodai tore him a new one. The many pages were filled with eyewitness accounts on the powers being tossed around and it scared the voices in her head silence.

Hitomi didn't know why they were scared, but the silence was nice, so she decided to keep this one as well.

A voice interrupted her. "Hitomi-chan," came the voice of a young blonde girl, her hair tied in a ponytail and face that reminded the pretender of the "mind diver". The mind diver was Naruto's personal bogeyman. He only came in when the darkness was around, one of the many reasons Naruto was afraid of the darkness, and would bind the voices away from Naruto. It was lonely without the voices so Naruto would invariably free them immediately after the mind diver would leave.

The day he escaped, he saw the mind diver in person and injected him with something the dark voice had down him how to culture, an illness that caused lingering sickness before death.

It was fitting, the botulism, and made Naruto happy.

Back to the present: Ino, the girl standing in front of Hitomi was smiling happily. "Hello Ino-san," she returned a bit formally, even bowing the slightest. She recognized the girl as a rival of the other Hitomi in the diary complete with a photo.

Ino waved the formality away. "Look, we're ninja now. We need to be able to work together in case we are given a joint mission," the blonde pointed out with that ever-present smile.

Hitomi relaxed her posture and returned the smile, her own soft. She wasn't as pretty as Ino, but that didn't matter to the young neo-girl. "M! Yeah, let's be friends," she encouraged happily. Another first! A friend! One aside from the voices!

Ino giggled in her girly fashion before looking at the strange mix of books the girl was holding. "Poisons, a bit eccentric. Isn't it?"

Hitomi nodded happily as she held the book up. "It speaks to me," she admitted. "Just think," she began in an excited voice as she clutched the book to her bosom. "You could greet an enemy by shaking hands and deliver a toxin through their skin that makes them see double!"

Ino blinked in thought, pausing before going on a tirade. "Hey, what about immobilizing an opponent, even temporarily?"

Hitomi's grin only widened as the two girls made their way to a table, speaking softly but animatedly about poisons and their usage while the dark voice tossed in ideas of his own.

(Hokage's Office)

Jiraiya, a legendary warrior and spy master, was seated across a desk from his teacher in his youth. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third/Sandaime, Hokage gazed seriously into the eyes of his student after delivering the information on Inoichi.

"I've never heard of a poison like that. And it rejects chakra treatments," Jiraiya mused aloud. Granted he wasn't a poison expert like his former teammate or a doctor like his third teammate, but he was well-versed in counter toxins.

Hiruzen sighed in a tired manner. "I was hoping for a different answer." Jiraiya nodded in understanding and wiped at his brow, already knowing where this private conversation was headed.

"Jiraiya, we need her help," he asked.

The man signed pitifully and leaned back. "You don't ask small favors, do you, sensei," he returned jokingly. The air of the room remained pensive before the Toad Sage sighed. "When I brought her back the last time and she realized Naruto's condition was brought on by blunt-force trauma suffered by a beating from your citizens, she vowed to watch this village burn to the ground," he said softly, repeating his third teammate's words carefully.

Hiruzen nodded his head as if understanding. "Which is why I completely understand the difficulty in this mission. You may use any means necessary, even force to bring her here," Hiruzen informed as he stood up and began to pace the room. "If a cure isn't found, my councilors are calling for a reassignment of the Kyuubi into a more suitable Jinchuuriki. They've even located a young Uzumaki girl in Kusagakure whose mother is willing to agree for sage passage for the two. They are being escorted here by Team Gai as we speak," he informed seriously.

Jiraiya inhaled sharply and leaned away from his General while thinking hard. "If you outright kill the boy, I won't be responsible for her actions," he said calmly before standing. "She'll be here, I'll even leave a frog summon here get us back faster," Jiraiya acknowledged while fulfilling his words, bringing to life a small toad that sat on Hiruzen's desk with a have of his human-like hand.

Hiruzen nodded tiredly while the toad was informed and Jiraiya departed.

(Library)

Hitomi smiled giddily as she fell further into a giggle fit with Ino. "Man, you're so lucky," she praised Ino. "You're teammates were your lifelong friends, you already know everything about each other!"

Ino nodded her pretty head, that blonde hair dancing about. "Yeah, but we're kids from clans that have been allied since before the village was founded. If you play your career right you can earn a family name and even start an alliance or two for your children," Ino encouraged cheerfully.

While to some it may say harsh, but it was a factual statement. Her family, the Shimura were stripped of the name when they agreed to enter the village as there was already a Shimura ninja clan. They were all three starting over on the back of Hitomi, hopeful that she would earn enough to make the move worthwhile. It even said so in the diary, the day she had passed her exams.

Hitomi, the new one, fully intended on fulfilling his chief voice's ambition, becoming Shogun of The Dark, the Kage of Kage. Her family would be proud and Mizuki, another clanless ninja, she had realized, could marry into or swear fealty to her clan name when granted it!

Ino suddenly gasped as she looked at the time. "I gotta go! But, when you return that book on poisons let me know so I can check it out," the blonde girl cheered.

Hitomi nodded her head happily, almost vacuous, while clutching her three books to her bosom.

Slowly her feet settled on the floor, the sensation of floating on air subsiding. She was alone again. The young ninja dashed away to a counter and signed out the books in her hands. She hadn't found the books on chakra strings, but she was satisfied with what she had.

The librarian helped her with the process and even walked her to the door while explaining why there were no books focused on chakra strings.

"You see, next time you come through here you should grab the books on puppetry," the aged woman, one Koharu Utatane, suggested pleasantly.

Hitomi smiled fondly up towards the kindly woman, her joy reaching even her eyes while heading into the open village. The sun was slowly waning, colors beginning to grow darker, taking on a slightly more orange tint even as the hopped from one roof to the next. She knew she probably shouldn't do so as it drew attention, but honestly Hitomi couldn't bring herself to much care.

Three shadows formed around the girl, stalking her movements from each in a triangular formation, yet the held off, staying just far enough away to watch her with scrutiny. It was unnerving enough that the auburn-haired teenager dropped to an empty street a few blocks from home and waved towards the ANBU as they solidified. "Sorry, I was running late to get home ANBU-tachi," she called out sweetly as she began walking at a sedate pace through the streets. The three ninja with darkened and obscured masks nodded before wandering away while Hitomi began to skip along.

It didn't take long for her to spot something interesting... Just on the edge of her senses, something was following her, stalking her, like a predator pursuing its prey.

She didn't know who it could be as the stalker was too well hidden and made the voices angry.

While Hitomi changed course from heading home, the stalker altered path as well following the girl in another direction...

Hitomi grit her teeth harshly and began the process to generate chakra wire by the dozens, building essentially an invisible spiderweb of mesh before darting towards a nearby alley and falling into the shadows.

The voices were shooting now, becoming more irritated as she sat, perfectly still, waiting and feeling the street vibrations.

Something stepped on to the web of wire but it wasn't the stalker, she could feel the difference of something smaller. Was the stalker testing the lines? But, then how did they see them at all?

A threat! A very dangerous threat!

The voices were right and adamant. This stalker wanted to take away her happy life, thus Hitomi prepared for an assassination.

Slipping into a shadow she gave a sinister smile, a kunai in her hand.

Something came strolling through the area, a young boy with long black hair and pale lavender eyes each step he took was measured, moving in between the web like netting Hitomi had put in place. The sides of his face were swollen to the point the veins surrounding his eyes were clearly visible. His hands were ready to strike even as he neared Hitomi.

From her place, hidden in a shadow, she fired off the kunai at the boy's head. Be it luck or some twisted fate humor, she happened to be positioned just perfectly to throw the lump of steel into his blind spot, the kunai lodging into his skull and ending him.

Hitomi smiled darkly, pulling the kunai out and licking the blood while her eyes reflected the miniscule light of the moon.

Her happiness was safe, and there were no witnesses about. With grin, the girl fell into her own shadow and left the environment...


End file.
